The Positive Births NZ podcast

Bailey’s labour didn’t start the way she planned for it to,but from the work she had done in her pregnancy she was feeling “far more excited than scared,” and that shift from fear to excitement became one of the most powerful parts of her journey. In this episode Bailey talks about preparing for what she callsher “ultra marathon” preparing for something challenging, understanding how her body work...

What do you do when your homebirth dreams are shattered because your baby is discovered to be in a footling breech position at 40+3?? There is so much for you to gain from listening to this episode with Tanay, where she shares her journey that did not go anywhere near to plan — and yet became one of her greatest lessons in surrender, strength, self-trust and healing. What began as a firm decision...

Hannah shares her truly powerful, uplifting successfulVBAC story — and a reminder of what can be possible when you feel informed, supported and safe. Almost nine years after her first birth ended in an emergency caesarean following an induction, Hannah knew she wanted a very different experience for her next birth. She committed to preparing differently this time: shifting fear, building confidenc...

A gorgeous home waterbirth story after the stars aligned at 37 weeks and Lauren found the right midwife who "oozed calmness". In this episode we hear about Lauren's belief in herself, but the desire to be prepared. How doing an in person Hypnobirthing day retreat got Ryan fully onboard to know how to support. Navigating the acceptance of having a New Year's due date and therefore...

Ella shares the birth stories of both her sons, Archie and Mackenzie, and what shines through is her calm, practical mindset and deep trust in her body. That first birth planted a seed of confidence for her future, and Ella also reflects on how motherhood (including Archie’s recurring ear infections) shaped the way she began questioning “standard” medical approaches and seeking more informed, holi...

Lucy shares the whirlwind story of welcoming three babies ina very short space of time — Eddie, Alice, and Walter. Lucy reflects on her first pregnancy with Eddie, including going overdue (to 41+6), a fast first labour, and what it felt like navigating the “overdue” pressure. She alsoshares the surprise twist of falling pregnant with baby number two just a few months after Eddie arrived, and the m...

This episode with Vanessa provides an incredible insightinto the impact of HG (hyperemesis gravidarum). A three times HG survivor Vanessa vulnerably shares the darkness and challenges of being unable to function and having to rely on drugs (and her mum) to survive all her pregnancies. Not only did Vanessa have to deal with HG but also another condition of Vulvodynia. Her first two births to Evie a...

With a scan showing a ‘potential’ issue late in her first pregnancy to Florence, Zoe was pressured for an induction which lead to series of interventions and a hospital birth. Zoe shares her learnings and then her second experience of birth with Goldie. A natural physiological, home waterbirth proving that yes, her body knew exactly what to do when there was no interference. Zoe shares how hypnobi...

Ashleigh planned for a homebirth when pregnant with Charlie for but ended up navigating the hospital system at 42 weeks and 2 days where her labour started. She shares about the challenges and the battles they had along the way including constant monitoring preventing her from moving around; a ventouse and episiotomy. There are aspects of this experience that Ashleigh felt were traumatic for her a...

From the moment Anneke’s first baby Monty arrived she knew her next birth would be a VBAC. Therefore, excited to pregnant and expecting baby #2 Anneke intended, prepared, visualised and believed in her ability to have this VBAC. Her midwives were on board and all was going well until……..the routine appointment with the hospital obstetrician at 33 weeks. Get ready to tear your hair out about what t...

If you’d like another example of a normal, natural healthy, physiological birth of a first baby you’re in the right place today. Anna’s homebirth experience has helped her develop a senseof self trust that she is no relying on in her postpartum and we discuss how important this is. At 38 weeks Anna experienced a very long (almost 7 days)latent labour. Despite the long days and nights of intermitte...

Kiwi Beth and her partner moved to Majorca Spain whilepregnant with their first baby. Beth’s plan was to have a homebirth and she shares what she needed to do to make that happen – as the system in Spain is very different to NZ. Despite what was planned baby had other ideas as he wasready to arrive at 34+5 so this birth ended up being in hospital. Beth explains what happened after baby was born an...

After a beautiful pregnancy and birth to Olive (which hadinvolved a major mindset shift about birth) Nicole found herself in her second pregnancy fearful of not being able to have another positive birth. She searched for stories of mums having the experience of 2 great birth stories andcame up short. Which is one of the big reasons she is here – to share the fact that it IS possible. In this episo...

"It turned into this incredible natural, beautiful, almost pain free like experience with such a natural high. It was phenomenal". Natasha and Joel prepared in pregnancy with learning skills and tools from their Positive Births hypnobirthing course. Natasha explains how they used their tools in her pregnancy and for labour, with Joel being an incredible support during the induction proce...

Jana shares her experiences of an induction and hospital birth with Mia and then very soon after, the journey of embarking on what turned out to be a wonderful homebirth for Charlie. Within this episode Jana shares within her first pregnancy and birth: High blood pressure, the need to travel 3 hours to Dunedin for hospital care at the end of pregnancy, navigating a ‘grey’ situation, coping with di...

As a young mum Jena was prepared for the “worst” experience of her life – giving birth, but it turns out that it wasn’t as bad as she was told it would be. Xavier had a 2 vessel cord (occurring in approx. 1% ofpregnancies) which required extra monitoring through pregnancy but arrived healthy and strong, although Jena birthed posterior and had a 3rd degree tear. A couple of years later Zephyr arriv...

Two miscarriages with IVF and then a natural conception - Amanda shares with us her challenging conceptionjourney and to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week at the time of recording, we chat a little bit more about the very common (yet often not talked about) topic of miscarriage. In Maddison’s pregnancy Amanda experiences a sub chorionic hematoma but from there she is low risk, a healthy pregnancy, the...

Following 2 C-sections Rabia did everything she could toachieve her home VBA2C and in this episode you’ll hear all about what she did, how she did it and you’ll undoubtedly be inspired by her perseverance, dedication;her ability to take charge, make decisions and trust the process. Her journey included a complete mindset change and allowed new doors to open up for her (while some closed). She shar...

A great episode to listen to for understanding how you can roll with the unpredicted curve balls and have your partner fully support you – so that all you have to do as a birthing mother is simply “go with the flow”. Laura shares her 2 positive hospital births to Oliver and Eddison where both she and partner Josh were prepared having taken a hypnobirthing course in their first pregnancy, and a pri...

Christl shares with us her three different birth experiences. Archie’s birth at 39 weeks included meconium present in waters, synthetic oxytocin, kiwi cup and forceps which left Christl feeing a bit daunted about birth when it came to her 2nd pregnancy. However, armed with some different information and confidence she then planned and experienced a homebirth – with baby Elsie arriving ‘en caul’. W...

An inspiring induction story from solo mum Kobi who was surrounded by her ‘village’ for her empowering birth to Dovie. Kobi wasn’t scared of birth, but she was ideally planning on a homebirth, so there was a bit of mindset shifting needed to be done at the end of her pregnancy when it appeared that Dovie’s growth was slowing right down. Listen to how Kobi worked through her change of plans, how he...

Charlie wants to let you know that you can still have a beautiful birth in a hospital with an obstetrican. She’s had two such births, she chose obstetrican care to support her medical condition of Hashimotos. Having her thyroid removed in 2021 and managing with medication, Charlie shares with us her conception, pregnancy and birth journeys with one of the biggestchallenges – prodromal labour for 3...

A smooth homebirth for a first baby, this is a great storyfor all first time parents to listen to, incase you too might like to “trial” a homebirth. Georgia shares with us the rocky start to her pregnancy witha severe bleed at 6 weeks being a  sub chorionic hematoma and then all was well – until the 12 week scan. At that stage she was told that baby had a high risk result for Down Syndrome. Listen...

Jordi has been through a lot with her two daughters Rosie and Margot. In this episode we hear about the differences between a fear filled birth and one where she felt calm and in control. Included in this chat are: ·      Miscarriage and immediate conception ·      Antenatal anxiety ·      30 weeks discovery of Rosie having  bilateralduplex kidneys, ·      The example of fear and tension leading t...

Ashlee is mum to 3 children under 3 years old and has a range of birth experiences – so she shares with us the details of them all, with a focus on her most recent unassisted fast homebirth to Willow. Ashlee’s first birth to Alicia involved a range of intervention including induction (due to baby’s size), being prepped for C- Section, with baby born vaginally and a 3rd degree tear. We hear about t...